Lincoln City to Newport

Finally, an opportunity to shoot a sunset!  But first, we need to get to Newport. We pulled over a lot, checked out parks and paths that go down to sandy beaches.  Here are some of the days 'takes'.

I admire anyone who can start their day flying a kite on the beach.  This flyer was so good he actually walked this kite, end to end, along the beach.  Perfect control.

Tom and I both love shooting waves.  He is looking for the perfect one.  I am looking for the interesting one. Two different seekers along the beach!

 Then, there is this wave.  Talk about force and attitude!

There was tranquility in some bays.  As the morning progressed the water got more blue. In many places there are picnic tables and I wished for a peanut butter sandwich and a long lunch hour just to take it in.  There was a cold breeze so in many ways I was happy to move on and find some good local clam chowder!

We stopped at Devil's Punch Bowl.  The site might be very interesting in higher tide, but when we were there the main 'attraction' was rather boring.  However, around the corner is this area with tidal pools, few waves, and a completely different rock formation.  What a find!

When we got to Newport we were soooooooo hopeful that we could find a site for a sunset shot.  We found one at Yaquina Point. First, let's get the traditional (read boring) sunset out of the way.

Tom took off on his own, as usual.   Just for the record, Tom and I were shooting the same sunset. I say this just in case you think he walked off to a different beach on a different day in another world! He got back in the car with a grin bigger than when he realized he kept his camera out of the ocean.  "I think I got some good ones." he said. He specializes in understatements.

We ended the day with a great ciopinno at Sharks in the older 'bay' part of Newport. We celebrated a day without rain.  We celebrated our time together.  We remembered our friends and family.

Today we are off on a side trip to Eugene.  Seems Tom landed on his filter case when he danced backward into ocean water.  He smashed a couple of essential filters (ND and polarizing).  We could share . . . Nah!  We split up too much.  We will shoot along the way.

Hard to imagine that tomorrow will mark 5 weeks on the road.  Still having great fun.

Have a great weekend.

Heading South Along Oregon's Coast

Starting in Cannon for a rainy morning shoot, we spent the rest of the day traveling south down Oregon's coast to Lincoln City where we are overnighting.  What a variety of scenes!!  It is difficult to integrate them all into any specific thing.  I laughed this afternoon when I realized that every time I saw the word creek or river on an Oregon map it meant that there would be water!!

We are so used to waking up to rain that it now does not even faze us.  We were very early this morning, so our shots reflect the early blue light as well as storm clouds. We don camera 'raincoats', grab an umbrella and just get to it.

Later, as we drove south, we stopped at a state park.  We peered out into a light misty rain at what looked like a rain forest, not a beach?  "I will go check it out", I volunteered. I did not make it all the way to the beach. After a 30 minute hike (I really should have turned around earlier), I gave up and returned to the car.  But, what lushness, green, moist, vibrant life! And a stream that was loud and full of water! I told Tom, "There is a shot out there for you if you want it!"  He did not take me up on the challenge.  LOL

Taken with D800 and processed in Final Cut.

We continued to drive south, shooting along the way. Views can be spectacular, epansive.

We stopped in Rockaway Beach to check out a lovely beach with pretty big waves, clouds, nice sand.  The tide was coming in.

I noticed Tom at water's edge.  With the tide moving in, he was having to back up to keep his feet dry.  But, he kept going back to the very edge.  The next series of photos are put on with his full permission.  The story does not end well.

At that point I admit to chuckling.  My dearest Tom.  What he will do to get just the shot he wants!  I tried calling out to him to but he could not hear me with the sound of the ocean. Tom was developing a pretty good backstep dance!

He is simply not baffled!  He sets up again.

By now I have switched to video mode on my camera.  One of the mantras of a street or news photographer/videographer is that you stay with your story.  You stay with your story.  You stay with your gear.  Right!  I failed.  Eventually, the ocean won. Tom backed up right out of my frame (I was not with my story) and then I left my gear to assist him. He was actually disappointed that I did not catch his actual fall. "Did you see how I kept my arm up and out of the water so the camera would stay dry?", he commented. Yes, but your camera belt is soaking, the phone is wet, the iPod is wet and you are soaked!

Taken with D800 and processed in Final Cut.

After drying everything we could and changing clothes, we had lunch and continued south.  We stopped at Meares Point to photograph a lighthouse. These are for you, Anden.

We decided to head to the hotel a bit earlier than we had planned.  I lucked out with a nice laundry facility just downstairs.

Today we have sunshine!!!!!!!  We cannot wait.

Cheers.  Hope you are planning a shooting weekend.

Back to the Coast

Sitting at Len and Kay's dining table we examined maps of Oregon, checked weather forecasts . . . so many options.  Decision!  Head back to Oregon's northern coast just where we left off to get out of the storm.  We spent the night in Cannon, arriving just in time to pick out a location for a (hopefully) great sunset shot.

These were taken at Ecola Beach. As usual Tom and I split up.  He went wide on me. I went narrow on him. Go figure!  We are speaking lens geek here folks.  For the person following us on the Travelogue that is not a photographer . . . it means that he used a wide angle lens getting in a HUGE amount of landscape.  I used a telephoto lens that gives me greater distance with a narrower view.  One more thing to mention.  If you notice carefully, the large rock at the very back in Tom's first image is called Haystack. In his wide angle photo it looks very far away. In my second image you see the town clearly and Haystack looks much closer. More importantly, it would appear that the distance between the front rocks and Haystack is less than in a wide angle shot.  Just one of those things that photographer use to their advantage when they want to create a certain look.

In the shot below, if you look very, very carefully, the small blip on the right side of the photo and just on the horizon is a lighthouse.  You can see it with the naked eye but can barely see it with the wide angle lens.

As we were leaving Tom struck up a conversation with a gentleman that had also been at the site for a while. Turns out he is the publisher of 'Coast Explorer'.  His name is Gary Hayes and in the last issue of his magazine he has an extensive list of coastal sites that he considers to be the most beautiful spots!! Serendipity again!

Today we are headed down the coast to check out those sites.

Have a great Wednesday everyone.